Fundamental vs Overtone

Side-by-side comparison of two musical terms.

	Fundamental	Overtone
Definition	The lowest frequency in a harmonic series, perceived as the main pitch of a note.	A higher frequency that sounds simultaneously above a fundamental pitch, shaping the tone colour of a note.
Category	pitch	pitch
Pronunciation	/fʌndəˈmɛntəl/	/ˈəʊvətəʊn/
Origin	Latin (fundamentum)	German (Oberton)
BPM	—	—
Synonyms	first harmonic prime tone	harmonic partial upper partial
Antonyms	overtone	fundamental
Usage	Even though the small speaker could not reproduce the fundamental, listeners still perceived the low bass note.	String players lightly touch the node point to isolate the second overtone, producing a bell-like harmonic.

Definition: The lowest frequency in a harmonic series, perceived as the main pitch of a note.
Category: pitch
Pronunciation: /fʌndəˈmɛntəl/
Origin: Latin (fundamentum)
Synonyms: first harmonic prime tone
Antonyms: overtone
Usage: Even though the small speaker could not reproduce the fundamental, listeners still perceived the low bass note.

Definition: A higher frequency that sounds simultaneously above a fundamental pitch, shaping the tone colour of a note.
Category: pitch
Pronunciation: /ˈəʊvətəʊn/
Origin: German (Oberton)
Synonyms: harmonic partial upper partial
Antonyms: fundamental
Usage: String players lightly touch the node point to isolate the second overtone, producing a bell-like harmonic.